Shloka 85
आदि पर्व, अध्याय 67 — गान्धर्वविवाह-समयः
Duḥṣanta–Śakuntalā: Gandharva Marriage and Succession Condition
मातुर्दोषादृषे: कोपादनन््ध एव व्यजायत | अरिष्टाका पुत्र जो हंस नामसे विख्यात गन्धर्वराज था, वही कुरुवंशकी वृद्धि करनेवाले व्यासनन्दन धृतराष्ट्रके नामसे प्रसिद्ध हुआ। धृतराष्ट्रकी बाँहें बहुत बड़ी थीं। वे महातेजस्वी नरेश प्रज्ञाचक्षु (अन्धे) थे। वे माताके दोष और महर्षिके क्रोधसे अन्धे ही उत्पन्न हुए ।। ८३-८४ $।। तस्यैवावरजो भ्राता महासत्त्वो महाबल:,उन्हींके छोटे भाई महान् शक्तिशाली महाबली पाण्डुके नामसे विख्यात हुए। वे सत्य- धर्ममें तत्पर और पवित्र थे। पुत्रवानोंमें श्रेष्ठ और बुद्धिमानोंमें उत्तम परम सौभाग्यशाली विदुरको तुम इस लोकमें सूर्यपुत्र धर्मके अंशसे उत्पन्न हुआ समझो
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | mātur doṣād ṛṣeḥ kopād andha eva vyajāyata | ariṣṭakā-putro yo haṃsa nāma se vikhyāta gandharva-rājas sa eva kuruvaṃśa-vṛddhi-karaṇo vyāsa-nandanaḥ dhṛtarāṣṭra iti nāmnā prasiddhaḥ | dhṛtarāṣṭrasya bāhavaḥ bahu-vistīrṇāḥ | sa mahā-tejasvī nareśaḥ prajñā-cakṣuḥ (andhaḥ) āsīt | sa mātṛ-doṣāt maharṣi-kopāc ca andha eva jātaḥ || tasyaivāvarajo bhrātā mahā-sattvo mahā-balaḥ pāṇḍur iti nāmnā vikhyātaḥ | sa satya-dharme tatparaḥ pavitraś ca | putravatsu śreṣṭhaṃ buddhimatsu cottamaṃ parama-saubhāgyavantaṃ viduraṃ tvaṃ loke sūrya-putra-dharmāṃśa-sambhavaṃ manyasva |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Because of the mother’s fault and the sage’s anger, he was born blind. The famed Gandharva-king Haṃsa, son of Ariṣṭakā, became the son of Vyāsa who would increase the Kuru line, and was known by the name Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s arms were very large; though a king of great splendor, he was “one whose eyes were wisdom”—that is, blind. Thus, through the mother’s lapse and the rishi’s wrath, he came into the world without sight. His younger brother, possessed of great spirit and great strength, became renowned as Pāṇḍu—devoted to truth and dharma, and pure in conduct. And Vidura—most excellent among the wise and foremost among the virtuous—know him in this world to be born from a portion of Dharma, the son of the Sun.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames royal destiny within an ethical-causal universe: personal lapses (doṣa) and ascetic wrath (ṛṣi-kopa) bear consequences, yet dharma also manifests through exemplary figures like Vidura, whose wisdom and righteousness are presented as a stabilizing force for governance.
Vaiśaṃpāyana explains the births and qualities of the Kuru princes: Dhṛtarāṣṭra is born blind due to the mother’s fault and a sage’s anger; his younger brother Pāṇḍu is described as strong, pure, and devoted to truth and dharma; and Vidura is identified as an embodiment (aṃśa) of Dharma, famed for wisdom and good fortune.